Rev. Ruth’s Community Office Hours
At least twice monthly Rev. Ruth offers Community Office Hours at the Savoy Bookstore and Café on Canal Street. She is usually there on every other Wednesday from 2-4pm, tucked away at one of the tables along the back windows.
She is there to talk with folks who have questions about God or faith, or who are feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world, or who would like someone to pray with and don’t know where to turn.
All conversations with her are completely confidential.
Check the church calendar or the most current edition of The Beacon to see when her next Community Office Hours will take place.
Christmas Bazaar preparations underway: Nostalgia Boutique set-up and Gift Baskets waiting to go outside.
Other Community Events Include:
- The Annual Attic Treasures Yard Sale
- Pollinators Plant Sale
Music Ministries
Our Music Ministries include:
- Our vocal choir which performs during worship twice a month and rehearses weekly on Wednesday evenings and before worship on Sundays.
- Our Tone Chimes Choir performs monthly and rehearses following worship as needed.
- Soloists from our own congregation also grace us with their gifts of voice and instrument as invited and desired.
- An open invitation to anyone interested in any the music ministries of the church to speak with David Cranmer, our Organist and Choir’s Director for details on how to become involved. No auditions or experience needed! We trust that the Psalmist meant it when he said, “make a joyful noise unto the Lord!”
Prayer Ministries
UCC Westerly has a long tradition of active and vibrant prayer ministries in many forms:
A Prayer Tree team, organized to offer prayers for specific needs and situations which arise in the church or in the community. Prayer requests for the Prayer Tree are given to either the Deacon of the Week or the Pastor who then activates the entire team to prayer for the person or situation.
Prayer Shawls are created with love and blessed during worship, intended to be a tangible reminder of God’s presence with folks who are experiencing health challenges of any kind. Anyone can receive a prayer shawl at any time. Just ask a Deacon for assistance in finding a suitable one for your loved one.
Prayer Bears are a rather unique approach to prayer ministry which originated with a former pastor of the church. A Prayer Bear is a stuffed animal which has spent time in the sanctuary being saturated with the prayers, songs, Scripture readings and love of the congregation. As such we see them as a repository of God’s love and concern for anyone needing a tangible reminder.
Prayer Candles are a feature of our worship services that offer the opportunity to entrust a special prayer to God’s keeping by the lighting of a candle on one of three prayer candle tables located along the side walls of the sanctuary. Anyone is welcome to light a candle before worship and during worship when a hymn is being sung.
No donations needed to participate in this ministry. Just a prayer on your heart requiring God’s light!
Special prayers offered during the Pastoral Prayers every Sunday morning. Anyone can request a specific person to be remembered in our Sunday morning prayers through several means. A voice mail message left on the office phone, a text message directly to Rev. Ruth or a note written in the prayer notebooks near both sanctuary entrances are gladly received anytime. Do note they must be received by 9am on Sunday mornings to be included in the morning’s prayers.
Sabbath Circles At-Home Sunday School Program
Sabbath Circles © is a new approach to the traditional model of Sunday School.
It has been created by this church as a response to the realities of contemporary life for families with children and youth. We want to offer a teaching/learning model that works within family schedules, as they exist.
We want to move beyond church confined to a building, being just another thing on a “to do” list that’s already too long. We want our faith community to be active out in the world, as an antidote to the crazy pace, confusing messages and questionable values of the world as it is today.
Here is what we hope to accomplish with this curriculum:
- We want to empower and inspire parents and grandparents to be the first teachers of the faith.
- We want to hold on to worship as the heartbeat of our church. That’s why the Sabbath Circles© curriculum is linked to our weekly worship in content, but you do not need to be present in worship to use the curriculum.
- We want each weekly lesson to be user-friendly, so it has a simple format with a focus Scripture text and suggestions for going deeper with the text.
The Sabbath Circles© logo of four interlocking and overlapping circles represent:
- Worship – on Sunday mornings and whenever else the Spirit calls us.
- Learning – Lifelong learning opportunities including Bible study, discussion groups and other groups on a short-term but ongoing basis.
Fellowship – in all sorts of events as developed by our Missions and Congregational Life boards.
Service – Working together to make a difference in the world. - Fellowship – in all sorts of events as developed by our Missions and Congregational Life boards.
- Service – Working together to make a difference in the world.
The Sabbath Circles design reminds us that every part of life in the church is always connected to the others. Whatever part of church speaks to you here will welcome you with open arms.